Doc74 Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 (edited) Hi all, I used to be a big gamer but that has died down over the last two years. The last games I played were Cod4 and Mass effect, both ran fine on my old pc. Gta4 is another story... I bought a new Dell just iver two years ago. A XPS 410 which has a dual core E6600 2.4, 2gb ram and a nvidia 7900gs 256mb. I'm running vista. I can play gta4, all settings on low. It doesn't look all that great but surprisingly runs fairly smooth. This is however just driving around crashing cars, no shooting, no smoke, no rain, none of that so it won't last very long I'm sure. Now I've played all the gta games many many times and I absolutely love them so I'd like to get a new video card for my old rig. However, since this is probably the only game I will play in a very long time to come, I don't see the point of a major upgrade, not yet. I found a few cards on newweeg under $100 which I think should work fine. My Dell has a pci express 16x, NOT 2.0 but I believe they are compatible. Ie I should be able to place a 2.0 card in there. I know upgrading memory from 2gb to 4gb wouldn't be a bad move but I will cross that bridge after I try the new video card. Since I don't have a quad core I know the cpu will be a bottle neck so I need to find a video card that won't be overkill. My goal for GTA is running it on a decent res with decent settings. It does not have to be maxed out but I do want it to look nice while getting good fps. Right now it's running on 800x600 and the shadows look horrible. Which cards do you guys (and gals) suggest? I've looked at the MSI HD 4670 1gb, 128bit and the 4830 512mb, 256bit and of course there's a bunch more. I think a 512mb, 256 bit card would be the better route to take but I value your opinions so let your voice be heard! Would these cards be overkill for my system? I'll save a few bucks where I can so the best bang for the buck is what I'm looking for. If my cpu and non 2.0 pic-e 16x will limit half the features of one of these cards then there's no point in me getting one of these in which case I'd like to hear which card would work for me right now. I still play and replay a bunch of older games like HL2, COD4, mass effect, the splinter cell series etc and they run perfect on my current card with maxed settings. EDIT Since the wife uses the pc as well and likes to play her quiet games in peace, I would like a card that is silent. The Dell right now is very very quiet and I don't want to ruin that. So even if there's a killer card for little money, if it sounds like a helicopter, I don't want it! : ) Edited May 20, 2009 by Doc74 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anus Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 If you're looking for a sub $100 card, get this HD4850. It's $94.99 after rebates, has free shipping AND comes with a free game, and is an awesome game at that. The best deal for your budget IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharmingCharlie Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 I think I am going to turn to song :- If you have a question see about GTA 4 on your P CCCCCC Then look right at the top It will certainly make you stop because right there if you look there is the system requirements topic eh there chuck http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=376237 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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